A house in the neighborhood of Mangabeira, João Pessoa, was destroyed by fire on Sunday morning. The fire was started by a candle according to the householder Benedito Ferreira de Lima, 72, who was the only person injured in the incident.

Benedict who is retired but supplements his income by recycling said, “because of the large amount of cardboard stored here, the fire spread very quickly endangering two neighbouring properties”.

The pensioner suffered first degree burns to his back and was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. Part of the structure collapsed, what remained standing was eventually demolished by the Fire Department.